Major nuclear accidents induced the contamination of large areas with a mix of radionuclides. Human populations are currently living in these countries and are potentially contaminated through ingestion of radionuclides on the long term. Until now, most of the studies mainly focused on cesium 137 (137Cs), with the aim of establishing a link between the level of territory contamination, the level of internal contamination of people and the observed health effects. However, recent experimental studies showed that biological effect of 137Cs in rodents differed from the ones observed in humans. Moreover, the study of other radionuclides such as strontium 90 (90Sr) showed the induction of biological effects that may explain observations made in humans and currently attributed to 137Cs. Furthermore, industrial and agricultural activities induce the dispersal of chemical pollutants with well-described toxic effects. Future studies should now deal with realistic exposures using a mix of radionuclides and chemicals. This will compensate for the lack of knowledge about the effects of mixtures and will allow a better understanding of health effects observed in exposed populations and a better protection in post-accidental situation.

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